New public procurement Act to improve systems

Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) says it is optimistic that the changes in the 2017 Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act (PPD) will improve public procurement system in the country.

PPDA Acting Director General, Timothy Kalembo said on Friday in Blantyre during a media sensitisation meeting which aimed at making journalists aware of the changes that have taken place in the 2017 PPD Act.

“In the new Act, there is the establishment of an authority which is a more autonomous office compared to the previous office.

“The appointment of the Head of the office will now be done by a more robust board which is the authority itself,” said Kalembo.

Kalembo added that the Act also have new amendments like notice of intention to award, which will improve transparency and allow aggrieved bidders to complain if there is an anomaly within the procurement proceedings.

“Unlike the 2003 Public Procurement Act, the 2017 PPD has also spelt out the issue of misprocurement and the authority has power to declare misprocurement when necessary,” said Kalembo.

He then assured the public of the independence of the body as it is now a regulator with powers.

“The previous office was basically considered as part of the civil service as it was a department under a ministry.

“The arrangement was not proper enough as we were required to regulate all the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) yet we were also a department of the government.

“We needed to reflect that position to being a regulatory body having the oversight and regulatory powers,” he said.